


A Mars' Family Vacation

by EllieBear, Irma66



Category: Veronica Mars (Movie 2014), Veronica Mars (TV), Veronica Mars - All Media Types
Genre: Ants, Based on a True Story, Camping, Eventual Smut, Family, Fluff, Giant Spiders, but there is some work involved to get there, mention of bears, smutus interruptus, some of it you may not, some of it you may want, we have the whole camping experience for you in one big fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-04
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-07-06 19:20:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15892443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllieBear/pseuds/EllieBear, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Irma66/pseuds/Irma66
Summary: Camping is fun, right?





	A Mars' Family Vacation

 

* * *

LOGAN

* * *

 

When it was over, and Logan had a chance to reflect on the experience, he realized that he should have known it was going to be a mistake from the beginning.  He blamed his stupidity on the fact that Keith had finally, kinda, most-of-the-time, stopped glaring every time he saw Logan walking into his house. 

It had been two years since they’d gotten married.  Really...how long could the man hold a grudge?  It’s not like he knocked her up or something. They’d graduated from college, both had jobs, and _then_ they got married.  Everything in the proper, over-protective dad order of operation, so what was the problem anyway?  Logan had pretty much given up on his father-in-law accepting him, at least not in the ‘Call me Dad, Son’ way. He was used to it and it’s not like ‘Dad’ had ever been anything more than a curse word in his life anyway.  He kept trying anyway; maybe someday, they’d have a kid and Keith would finally warm up by being made a Grandpa.  Or, maybe confirmation that the marriage had been consummated would make things even worse. He couldn’t worry about that any more.

So, when Keith and Veronica had started reminiscing at dinner a few weeks ago about a camping trip when Veronica was like six, he’d mostly been kidding when he popped up with a completely ridiculous idea.  

“I’ve never been camping; we should go sometime.”

 

* * *

VERONICA

* * *

 

The excitement in her dad’s eyes at the mention of a camping adventure “for old times’ sake” sent Logan straight from dinner to an online outfitters’ store. Three days later, Veronica arrived home to a box-city in her living room–with Logan in the middle of the camping carnage, trying to figure out exactly what to do with everything he purchased.

For his part—claiming his mind was willing, but his back was weak—Keith booked two campsites side-by-side at the Kiwanis Camp just a few hours outside of Balboa County as well as a small RV that would provide him some modest creature comforts.

Veronica was still unconvinced this was a good idea until the phone rang one day and Keith said the phrase that both warmed her heart and irritated her slightly….

“I don’t want to talk to you, honey. Let me talk to that husband of yours.”

 

* * *

LOGAN

* * *

 

“I don’t know why your dad rented the RV. This is way cooler.”

Logan leans back in his camping chair and surveys his surroundings with satisfaction. The tent went up, no sweat. All he’d heard during the planning was what a chore that was. Apparently tents were more troublesome in the olden days of camping. His pop-up grill is ready for the steaks he has marinating in the wheeled cooler. Cool, pop-open chairs that came in bags, all popped and ready for sitting.

“I think a lot of it was about sleeping on the ground.  His back, you know.”

He glances over at Veronica.  She just finished slathering another layer of sunblock down her arms and is leaning on the bumper of the Range Rover.

“We’ve got the air mattresses. It’s not like it’s really the ground.”

She smiles at him in that ‘you poor, silly, rich boy’ way that she has and walks over to kiss him on the top of his head.  

“It’s not like it’s really not either. But we’ll be fine.”  She moves past him toward the smaller cooler with the drinks in it and pulls out a Skist.  “Want something?”

“Sure, the set-up’s done; I’ll take a beer.”  He really doesn’t drink much anymore, but camping out seems like something where beer was the right beverage.  

Veronica laughs and holds up a can, wagging it mockingly at him.  “Are you sure?”

 _Oh yeah.  Bud Lite._ His newly approving father-in-law’s beer of choice.

“Of course.”

She closes the cooler with her knee and moves back over to him, holding the beer out.  Instead of taking it, he grabs her around the waist and tugs her into his lap. The chair jerks a little and she laughs again as she twists and throws her legs over the side.

“Careful, we’re probably pretty close to maxing this chair out.”

“You weigh a hundred pounds soaking wet.”

“But you don’t. And aluminum and polyester only has so much capacity.”  She pops his beer open and hands it to him, then pops her own can and raises it toward him.

“A toast.”  He knocks his can against hers. “To Logan’s first camping trip.” They both drink, and then she leans in to kiss him.  “Thanks for doing this. Dad’s really excited. More than I would have expected, honestly.  I appreciate you humoring him.”

“What do you mean? This was my idea. I want to do this.”  She’d been making comments all week, like she didn’t think he was going to enjoy the great outdoors if surfing wasn’t involved.

“I know, but…”

“No, really. It’s gonna be fine. And honestly, even if it’s not, it’s two days.  How bad can it be? As long as a bear doesn’t attack the campsite.”  He pauses, studying her face.  “There’s no bears around here, right?”

She laughs and kisses him again.  “No bears, as far as I know. And the Rover’s right here; if one shows up, we can jump inside and hightail it back to Neptune.”

“Okay, that works.” He tries the beer, cringing a little. “So when’s your dad getting here?”

Veronica pulls her phone out of her pocket, takes a quick look, and shoves it back.  “Probably an hour or so.”  She waggles her eyebrows.  “Wanna try out the tent before he gets here?”

“I didn’t inflate the air mattresses yet.”

“Like we’ve never done it on the ground. The sleeping bags are in there, we’ll be fine.”

“Okay then.  Lead the way.”

 

* * *

VERONICA

* * *

 

By the time Logan has zipped the tent door closed, Veronica is already out of her shorts and t-shirt in the middle of the sprawling 8-person tent. Tossing her stuff on the pile of unopened gear, she sits on the ground, a sharp rock promptly poking her in the buttocks.

“Ouch! Okay…too rocky for missionary.”

The last time they had sex outside was on a blanket on the soft sand. She had forgotten how “rugged" camping could be.

“I can unroll the sleeping bags.”

Flipping onto her hands and knees, she tosses a “come hither" glance over her shoulder at Logan as he unbuckles his khaki shorts.

“Nah. Don’t worry about it – we can make do. Just remember, these walls are fabric. None of your normal moaning and begging and screaming my name,” she says with a wink.

Stepping out of his shorts, Logan licks his lips, his eyes firmly focused on her backend. Pulling his Polo shirt over his head, he tosses it on the pile of gear before dropping to his knees just behind her.

“Goddamn it!” he shrieks, grabbing her hips for support, his face contorted in pain. “Rocks!”

“Suck it up, baby.” A small huff of annoyance breezes across her lips. “We haven’t got all day.”

Adjusting his alignment with her, Logan winces in pain as he moves and she rolls her eyes at him.

“Oh for pity’s sake…”

Crawling away from him, Veronica grabs the sleeping bag roll from the pile. Muttering something to herself about her delicate husband, she pulls the roll from its sheath, and flings it in the air with one hand, letting it fall to the floor in mainly flat state.

“For your knees.”

Crawling back in front of him, she turns around and presents her bottom to Logan with a cheeky wiggle.

“Now, let’s get down to business before my Dad gets here.”

“The rocks were sharp,” she hears Logan mutter as he leans over her body, planting a kiss near the top of her spine.

Pressing her soft body into his pelvis, they rock together slowly and she lets out a soft purr of appreciation as his fingers creep between her thighs. This whole weekend could be a bust, but at least – in Veronica’s world – mind-blowing sex in a tent would make it all worth it.

Two blasts of a loud horn cut through her thoughts.

“Hey! You kids setting up in there?” Keith yells from outside.

Veronica bites her lip, trying to hold in the loud moan of dissatisfaction her father’s arrival has created.

Logan’s fight-or-flight instinct kicks in and he begins scrambling for his clothes.

“Yep! We’ll be out in a second!” he calls back to Keith as he grabs his khakis off the ground, pulling them on as fast as he can.

Veronica drops on her side on top of the sleeping bag, cursing in her head.

 

* * *

LOGAN

* * *

 

“About an hour. Yeah, right,” Logan grumbles as he zips the tent closed again. Veronica is taking her time getting her clothes back on, leaving him to deal with Keith.  There was a time when she wouldn’t let them have unsupervised conversation; now she’s sending him out alone, with an unused boner, while she’s still half-naked in their tent. Speaking of...he tugs on his shorts, trying to make that little problem less noticeable to Veronica’s father.

“Hey, kid, it’s beautiful out here, isn’t it?”  

Keith’s bent over the cooler, digging through the cans. The newest member of the Mars family, an English Bulldog named Sir Winston, is flopped at his feet.

“Yeah, this was a great idea.”  Logan crosses the campsite to his father-in-law, extending his hand for a friendly handshake.  “How was the drive out? That thing’s a little bigger than your usual ride.”  He crouches down to scratch behind the dog’s ear.  “How’s it going, Winnie?” The pudgy little dog lumbers to his feet, licking Logan’s wrist as he scrubs his knuckles across the wrinkly forehead to scratch the other ear.

“It’s not too bad. Yeah, bigger than the Crown Vic, but it worked…” He shrugs. “Winston isn’t the greatest traveler though. He threw up twice.”

Logan freezes, then pulls his hand back, holding it stiffly away from him, as Keith laughs. “Sorry, kid.”

_Yeah, I can tell._

“Hey, Dad, how’s it going?” Veronica breezes up to hug Keith, and Logan steps back to his chair, pouring the remains of his now lukewarm beer over his dog-vomit contaminated hand. “Logan, what are you doing?”

“Uhhhmm, spilled my beer.”  He glances out of their site, further out into the campground.  “There’s a bathroom around here somewhere, right?”

“I think about three sites down,” Veronica answers.  “Dad’s got one in the RV, though, don’t you?”

“No, I’m good. I’ll check out the public one.”

He heads out of the site, only slightly self-conscious at the burst of laughter that he hears behind him.

 

* * *

VERONICA

* * *

 

By the time Logan gets back, Veronica and Keith have unrolled the awning on the RV, set up the folding camping chairs around an empty fire pit, and pulled out the Coleman grill.

“Ohhhh...when do we get to make fire?”  Logan asks enthusiastically and Veronica laughs.

Jerking her finger towards the pile of wood left near a small grouping of trees on Keith’s camping site, Veronica smiles, quirking her head to the side.

“Right after you chop some wood for us, honey.”

Logan frowns at the pile of large, heavy chunks of wood strewn near a big, round stump.  Leaning against the stump is a long handled axe. 

“It looks chopped to me.”  He frowns.  “I mean, it’s smaller than it was when it was, you know, an entire tree, so won’t that work?”

Keith reaches into the cooler that is now set just outside the door to his RV and cracks it open.

“No, Logan.   It has to be at least half that size, which means they need to be split.  And then we have to pick up the little bits for kindling.”

Clamping her hand down on Logan’s bicep, Veronica gives him a bit of a playful shake.

“Come on!  Here’s your chance to show off these muscles somewhere other than in the mirror at the gym.”

Veronica glances up at the twinkle in Logan’s eye and she knows she has his ego hooked.  Even though she knew she _could_ chop the wood, she didn’t _want_ to chop it—because really, what was the point of getting married if not for the ability to call on someone to kill spiders, change spare tires, and, of course, chop wood.

Pushing the short sleeves on his Polo shirt higher, Logan marches towards the pile on a mission.  He was told to chop wood, and by God, he was going to chop wood.

“Um, Logan...have you ever done this before?”  Keith asks, stepping forward, but not too close as Logan picks up the axe in the middle of the handle and swings it over his shoulder.

Logan grins back at him in that giddy way of his that worries Veronica.  Maybe she went a bit too far with this one…

“What’s to know?” he says, picking up a piece of wood and laying it lengthways across  the ground.

Raising his hand, Keith waves emphatically.  “Oh no.  Stop, Logan.  Just stop!”

He pauses, a pout crossing his lips as he grips the handle of the axe, ready to chop wood with all his might.

Ducking his head slightly, as if to avoid a possible swing, Keith approaches Logan, his hands still held up in imaginary defense.

“Okay.  Chopping wood 101—the little pieces go on that big stump.”  Keith points to the big round stump with the axe marks in it.  “And you have to balance the piece of wood so it’s standing upright—the tall way, not the long way.”

Nodding, Logan purses his lips and picks up the wood from the ground, following Keith’s instructions.  With a heavy sigh, Veronica walks over to the cooler and extracts a beer, popping it open before sitting a safe distance away on the steps to the RV.  Pulling her phone from her back pocket, she unlocks it, just in case she needs to call 911.

“So now, you stand back and spread your legs shoulder width apart,” Keith instructs his son-in-law patiently.  “That way, if you miss the log, you don’t bring the axe down on your leg or ankle.”

Doing as he is told, Logan shimmies himself into position, looking down to make sure his feet are in the proper position.

“Good.  Now, hold the end of the axe handle with one hand just above the other.  Let the weight of the axe head do all the work—kind of like a hammer,”  Keith says, pantomiming how to hold the axe using his beer can as an example.

Veronica snickers to herself, thinking it’s cute that her father thinks Logan has ever used a hammer before today.  Even driving the stakes into the ground for the tent, Veronica got testy with his little tapping motions and took the rubber mallet away from him so she could drive them into the ground with three quick strokes.

“Now slowly, stretch the axe out in front of you and put the axe head in the middle of the wood to measure how far you are away from your target.”

Logan frowns in concentration before following the instructions.  When he extends his arms, he realizes that he is too close and will miss the wood, so he backs up by about a foot and tries again.

“Good work."  Keith says, smiling.  “You get the idea.  Then when you’re ready, put it directly over your head, let it drop back, and then bring it forward—let the weight of the axe do all the work.”

Keith puts his beer on the ground and acts out the motion for Logan, raising his hands together over his head, dropping them back slightly then bringing them forward before stepping back out of the way.

Nodding, the muscles in Logan’s jaw twitch as he clenches his teeth and Veronica knows he is processing everything Keith said.

“You got this, honey!” she calls out, raising her beer to him.

He glances at her briefly and nods again before focusing on the stump of wood with laser-like intensity. If he were Superman, it would have been cut in half with his eyes by now.

With a little groan of exertion, Logan raises the axe over his head, drops it back, and then brings it down onto the wood, cracking it directly in half and sending the two pieces flying in opposite directions.

Both Veronica and Keith break out into thunderous applause and Logan grins back, the dimples on his cheeks running deep across his face.

“Way to go!  Now you just have to do that about a hundred more times!”

Wiping the perspiration of his brow with the back of his hand, Logan looks positively giddy at the idea of doing this over and over and over again.  Bending down, he grabs another piece and places it on the stump.

“Will do!” he says before lining himself up to split another log.

Veronica bends down and grabs another beer out of the cooler.  Taking a step towards her dad, she hands it to him, kissing his cheek gently as he takes it from her.

“What was that for?” he asks, his brow furrowing with confusion.

“For being the best dad and father-in-law ever,” she whispers, wrapping her arms around him.

He shrugs his shoulders and Veronica releases him from her embrace just as Logan lets another log fly across the campsite.

“What?  My back is sore.  I’m old,” he says, cracking open his beer, his eyes slightly glassy.

“Umhmmm...well, all I know is you made Logan very happy.  And me too.”

Glancing over at her husband, Veronica notices a line of sweat starting to appear down the back of Logan’s shirt, along his spine, and one following down his sternum.  The thought of him chopping wood without his shirt on at all flashes through her mind—his tanned back muscles flexing, his skin stretching over his pecs, little blue veins beginning to appear on his biceps—sending a chill of arousal through her.

She takes a sip of her beer to cool herself down.

“Yep.  We’re both very happy he learned this skill.”

 

* * *

LOGAN

* * *

 

Logan’s shoulders burn in a way that even arm day at the gym doesn't cause, but it was totally worth it. Keith’s impressed with the stack of wood he’d split and Veronica’s rubbing up on him in a way that gives him a great deal of hope for what’s waiting for him when they get back in the tent. _Or hey, maybe..._

“It’s probably a little early to start dinner yet, maybe a hike first?” He looks at Keith with his most sympathetic face. “Though, if your back’s bothering you...”

“No, it’s not bad, I might try a little hiking while we’re here, but right now, I’m just gonna soak up the campsite ambiance.”  Keith stretches out in his camp chair, the one with the foot rest built in. “You kids go ahead. Build up an appetite for those steaks.”

“That’s exactly what I had in mind,” Logan says triumphantly as he turns to Veronica, who’s still massaging his bicep. “Let’s check out the splendid isolation.”

Her eyebrows rise and he knows she’s picking up what he’s throwing down. “Uhh, yeah, that sounds like a great idea.” Her fingers trail along the veins protruding from his forearms after that chopping workout. “Just a quick one...a short trail, I mean. Then we can come back and start dinner.” She looks up at Logan. “You probably don’t realize this, never having camped before, but everything happens a bit early when you’re sleeping outside. No electricity to hold off the night, so it’s bedtime pretty much as soon as it’s dark.”

Logan can feel the expression slide off his face as he absorbs that tidbit of information. _What time does the sun go down anyway?_

Keith’s laugh interrupts his carnal thoughts. “Honey, the last time we camped you were six. Of course we sent you to bed as soon as it was dark. Your mom and I sat around the campfire for quite a while longer. And this trip, I’ve got the RV. It comes with electricity. We can play cribbage all night if we want.”

"Super."  Logan stands and extends his hand to Veronica.  "Better get going on that hike."

"You bet," she says, lacing their fingers together and tugging him out of the campsite.  "See ya in a while, Dad."

"Have fun," Keith calls after them.  "Stay on the trails so you don't get lost."

Logan glances back at his father-in-law, raising his hand in acknowledgement, then looks sideways at Veronica. "He's kidding, right?"

She shrugs, a little too noncommittal for his taste. "It's fine."

“So where are we going?” he asks, pulling her close enough to drop his arm over her shoulder. She reaches up to lace their fingers together again, wrapping him more tightly around her, then raises her other hand to resume stroking his forearm.  Her delicate touch against his skin has its usual effect, and his cock swells in his shorts.

“What do you mean, where are we going?” she asks. “I thought we were hiking.”

"What? No." He stops walking and looks down at her in surprise. "I thought...didn't you..."

Veronica laughs.  "Geez, you're easy when you're horny." She leans away from him, still holding the hand of the arm around her shoulders, getting them moving again. "Come on, we gotta see if we can find someplace private."

"You don't have any ideas already?" He's relieved that they had the same goal, someplace secluded for a quickie, but he'd thought she already knew where they were going.

"No." She wrinkles her nose at him.  "Why would I?"

"I just figured...you've been here."

"When I was six, Logan. Somehow, finding a secluded spot to have sex wasn't really on my mind." She rolls her eyes.  "Sorry to disappoint."

"No, no, that makes sense. I guess I got a little over-eager."

She pivots to step in front and face him, pressing in tightly.  "That's one of my favorite things about you."  She stretches up to kiss him, grinding into the bulge in his shorts as she does so.  He starts to deepen the kiss, then realizes they're still right in the middle of the campground, and not necessarily out of the sight line of Veronica's father.

"All right then, come on. There's gotta be a rock or a tree or something around here that I can press you up against." He cups her cheek in his hand and smiles down at her.

"I think there was a trail down this road a bit. After the bathrooms, and the playground. Let's check that out.  We oughta be able to find someplace that'll work."  She nuzzles into his hand for a moment, then turns her head to kiss his palm.  "Let's go."

They greet a few fellow campers as they stroll toward the trail head.  There are RVs in most of the sites to their left, but only a few of the tent sites on their right seem to be full.  As they pass the bathrooms, Logan remembers something. 

"Hey, when I was down here earlier, to wash the dog vomit off my hands, I noticed...the showers take tokens. Whoever heard of a pay shower?"

Veronica laughed and shrugged under his arm. "It's probably to keep people from staying in there for too long. Lots of people wanting to use the showers, plus, water conservation."

Logan snorts. "Like that'll stop us. We'll just get plenty of tokens."

"Maybe. Depends how much. I read Dad's brochures last week...I think it was like five bucks for five minutes.  We're only here for a couple of days, so I don't know that you need to go too nuts with the shower tokens.  Hop in, rinse off, get out.  We're living outdoors, Logan. Expect to be a little grubby."

Logan shudders.  "Yecchh. I'll spring for the shower tokens, as many as we want."

"Okay." Veronica shakes her head. "But it's outside. There's dirt. And bugs, and animals. You're gonna have to adjust to that."

"What are you talking about? I'm fine. You saw me chopping wood. I know you did." Her cheeks color pink and he grins, knowing he's made his point. "I'm not some delicate flower. I'm adjusted. Stop worrying."

"Whatever you say." A shriek rings out, followed by a peal of laughter, and Logan realizes they've reached the playground. "Hey, come on, push me on the swings."

She wriggles out of the circle of his arm and skips across the wood chips to the swings. Little kids are everywhere, on the swings, the monkey bars, and the slides.  Veronica heads for an empty swing and plops herself into it, then looks at him expectantly. He sighs, and follows.

"I thought we were 'hiking'," he says as he approaches, making air quotes.

"We 'hike' all the time." She matches his gesture. "How often do we get to swing?"

He chuckles as he moves behind her. "I don't think I'm getting to swing. I think I'm just the slave labor." He grabs the chains and pull her back but she drops her head back to smile at him.

"My favorite slave labor," she says and air-kisses back at him. He leans down to kiss her, then straightens and lets her go.

Twenty minutes later, Logan's pretty sure he's pushed every kid in the campground, at least it seems like that.  Veronica had relinquished her swing to a little girl a while ago, but she'd already loaned Logan's pushing skills out to all the swinging children. Now, she's taking turns on the slide and he's ready to move on to the 'hike'.

"One more for everyone," he announces, to a chorus of 'No's and 'More's. "Come on, guys, gimme a break. I'm supposed to be on a hike, so one more, and then I gotta go."

He makes his way down the line of swings, giving one final push to each, then heads for the slide. Veronica is climbing the ladder when she spots him.

"Logan! Come slide."

He chuckles as he shakes his head, pausing near the bottom of the slide.  "Nah, I'll catch you down here."

"Catch me!" shouts the little boy at the top of the slide, before flinging himself down the smooth metal. Logan steps forward, catching the boy under the arms and swinging him in the air before depositing him carefully on the ground.

"Cool, Mister!" The boy grins up at Logan, then runs for the ladder again.

"Me next!" shouts the next child in line, a little girl.  Veronica stands behind her, smiling down at him softly. He knows that look. It's been happening more and more lately. Ever since she'd watched him hold Weevil's baby daughter.

"Okay, I gotcha." Another catch and a swing and it's Veronica's turn.

"You're going to catch me?" she calls to him and he shrugs.

"I'll try," he says with a smirk and she sticks her tongue out and slides down to him.  Logan bends to catch her below the arms and pulls her against him, spinning them away from the slide.  She wraps her arms around his neck and they both laugh.

"Had enough time on the playground equipment?" Logan asks before kissing the top of her head. "Ready to get back to what we came out here for? The hike?"

She laughs low in her throat and tips her face up for another kiss. "How ‘bout you? Had enough playground time?"

"Yes, I think so." He drops another quick kiss on her lips, then her nose, and her forehead. "Come on. I've shared you enough." He lets her slide out of his arms, then captures her hand in his, before glancing back at the playground full of their new buddies. "See you guys."

The kids singsong out their good-byes and Veronica leads the way toward where the Plume Trail begins.

 

* * *

VERONICA

* * *

 

Glancing behind her, Veronica catches Logan wiping sweat from his brow again.  They’ve been walking for fifteen minutes off the beaten track through the bush and had yet to find a suitable place to fool around.  Veronica was sure they were far enough away from the campsites that no one would see them, but she still couldn't find just the right place to get it on.  The large rock Logan had suggested she sit on was too sharp and there was no way she was planting her bare ass on it.  And the idea of having her back rubbing against tree bark didn't appeal to her either.  
  
“I think sex in the woods is a fail,” Logan huffs from behind her.  “Let's head back before we get eaten by a bear.  
  
Pushing her way through a cluster of branches, Veronica glances back, making sure the branches don’t spring back and hit Logan in the face…again.  
  
“Pft.  Don't worry…the only thing that's getting eaten in the woods is going to be _me_ , honey.”  
  
His laugh seems to echo in the emptiness of the forest and she winks at him before pressing on.  
  
“You're pretty sure of yourself aren't you.”  
  
“Hell yeah.  First you chop wood in my presence, then you act all cute with like, a million small children at the playground.  All my womanly instincts are telling me I need to try and breed with you, mountain man.  Now!”  
  
She pauses for a second, spotting a clearing coming ahead of them, before doubling her pace.  
  
“Wait!  Hold on?  What do you mean by _breed_?”  
  
Veronica comes to a screeching halt again, turning to face Logan, her hands landing on her hips.  
  
“I mean sex.  Intercourse.  Fucking.  Why?  What do _you_ mean?”  
  
Crashing through the forest towards her, Logan stops inches from her, panting.  “I just…I thought that was maybe a hint that…you know…you wanted to start trying.”  
  
Her mouth drops open for a second before closing again.  Sure, they had talked about having kids—in the abstract ‘that would be cool one day' sort of way—but was this really where they wanted to talk about it again?  For a moment there is nothing but the sounds of chirping birds and buzzing bees around them.  
  
“I…I wasn't.  But do you?  I mean, want to start trying?”  
  
Logan's eyes lower and he rubs the back of his sweaty neck.  “I dunno.  Maybe?”  
  
“Maybe?”  She gasps.  “Maybe?”  
  
Logan shrugs, a sheepish grin crossing his lips.  “Yeah.  Maybe.”  
  
_Maybe_. Did her husband not realize what _maybe_ entailed?  There were things to think of—going off the Pill, seeing a doctor, doing tests.  And what about her work?  And what about Logan eventually going back to school to do his doctoral thesis?  Wasn't it too soon?  But then again, she didn't want to wait _too_ long. Of course they had scads of money from his trust fund, and a lovely house, but there was so much more to think about than just maybe.  
  
Raising her eyes to the blue sky above her, Veronica lets out a deep groan.  “Can we table this until after we are back in civilization?  Please?”  
  
Chuckling, Logan grasps her shoulders and leans in, planting a soft kiss on her forehead.  
  
“Yes.  Yes it can.”  
  
Veronica nods, stepping away from him slightly and smiles.  “Good, because I think I see a place where we can fool around.”  
  
“Lead the way,” he says, sweeping his hand past her in the general direction they were headed.  
  
Ducking under his arm, Veronica pushes through, making her way over the fallen branches towards the light at the end of the forest.  A minute or two later they emerge to a small break in the trees.  The clearing has a lush carpet of grass, fed by a small creek carved into the soil where spring water gently flows.  They can easily step over to the other side where more grass spreads for several yards in either direction before disappearing into forest again.  Dropping to her knees, Veronica dips her hands in the water and scoops some up in her hands and pours it over her head, cooling her quickly.  Logan joins her and does the same, giving his head a bit of a shake, scattering water droplets at Veronica.

With a giggle, she leans over and catches his face with her hands, kissing him hard and demanding.  His response is to wrap his arm around her waist, pulling her roughly towards him.

 _Mountain man, indeed_.

His tongue presses against her lips, seeking entrance and she lets herself relax into his grasp, opening her mouth and brushing the tip of her tongue across his.  There is a mutual moan of pleasure as they sink into their embrace.

Fiddling with the button of her shorts, Veronica unzips her fly and begins to shimmy out of her clothes, all the while keeping her lips firmly pressed to Logan’s.  He follows her as she moves to shed her shorts and underwear, his hands sliding up the front of her shirt to unsnap her bra, and she gasps in his mouth when he catches her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, giving it a tight squeeze.

Pulling away, Veronica quickly tosses her t-shirt off over her head and drops her bra before pulling off her sneakers and slowly lowering herself down on the majestic carpet of grass.

For a moment, spread naked along the ground, she feels ethereal—like some earth-mother-goddess rising from the ground.  And the way Logan is looking at her—transfixed by the sight of her spread out in front of him—she almost wishes they were trying to conceive a child out here in the apex of nature.

Her entire body begins to tickle with anticipation and she giggles, glancing up at Logan hovering above her.  Then, all at once, his face turns from dreamy sensuality to surprise and horror.

“Oh my God, Veronica…”

It’s then that she realizes the true reason for the tickling sensation.

“...ants!”

Springing up, Veronica screams, shaking her body and brushing her hands across her skin, tossing little black ants off her as fast as she can.  Logan joins her, batting them off her legs, her thighs, her…

“Oh my God!”  

Sweeping her up over his shoulder, Logan hauls her back over the little creek, setting her back on the ground as she continues to do a naked shake and shimmy to get the rest of the beasts off of her.

“Hang on!” he yelps before rushing back to grab her clothes, sweeping them up and giving them a good shake before returning to her.

Veronica’s heart is racing, her skin crawling.  Turning and twisting, she makes sure that there are no more ants on her before a full body spasm of disgust runs through her.

Logan continues to inspect her clothes before handing her underwear.

“Here.  You can put these back on.”

“Thanks,” she huffs, grateful for the little bit of protection.

“There must be an ant hill in the crevice near the water,” he states, handing her back a freshly inspected bra.

“Ya think?” Veronica gasps, looking in each cup before pressing her breasts back inside.

“So...sex in the woods is a bust.”

Rolling her eyes, Veronica stretches out her hand for another article of clothing.

“Yes.  We tried.  We failed.  Now all I want is a ten-minute shower, a beer, and a roaring fire to scare away any ants that may follow us.”

“Ten minutes!  That’s an awfully expensive shower.”

Veronica snatches her t-shirt from his grasp and shakes it violently in the air before pulling it over her head.

“Look, you get ants crawling all over your body and you see how long a shower you need to get the feeling off your skin.”

Logan lowers his eyes back down to inspecting inside his wife’s sneakers.

“Fair enough,” he mutters.

Placing her thumb nail in her mouth, Veronica shivers at the thought again.  

_Worst.  Trip.  Ever._

 

* * *

LOGAN

* * *

 

Veronica's still mumbling and occasionally twitching as she leads Logan back to the trailhead.

Don't get him wrong...Logan's really sorry this happened.  If nothing else, the ants swarming Veronica mean that he's probably going to have to wait to get laid 'til Keith has kicked both their asses repeatedly at cribbage. But he knows they both see him as the weakest link on this trip, so he's at least a little gratified that he's not the only one who's not thrilled getting too up close and personal with Mother Nature. And, holy shit, speaking of mothers. He’d known why she'd been looking at him like she was in the playground, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy that attention, but that breeding comment, _with no warning whatsoever,_ pretty much made his heart stop. It's a wonder she hadn't had to haul his shocked-to-death corpse out of there after that.

"All right, here's what we're telling Dad.  I think I brushed up against some poison oak, so I need to get a shower ASAP.  I'll get my bathroom stuff and a towel if you'll run down to the ranger's station and get me some tokens."

"And I know the drill. Stick to the story.  No talk of ants marching one-by-one across milky thighs. Got it."

Veronica shoots him a dirty look over her shoulder. "Laugh it up, funny boy.  We'll see who's laughing when I won't get naked with you at the end of the day."

He catches up to her in two long strides, and spins her to face him. "Is that so?" he says in a teasing voice, and tips her back for a long kiss.

Logan's not gonna pretend that he's not enjoying the kiss...he'd stopped trying to convince anyone that his world doesn't start and stop with Veronica quite a while ago.  But when she clutches at him with what feels a little like desperation, and her leg creeps up to hook around his, he hauls her abruptly back to her feet.

"I'm feeling pretty confident about your forthcoming nakedness," he says smugly, and kisses the tip of her nose.  She's breathing hard, but still manages to glare at him. He only laughs, then grabs her hand and gives it a tug. "Come on. Gotta get you some shower tokens."

"You gonna shower with me?" she asks, still sounding breathless, and he's very tempted, but there's a minor difficulty.

"Did I get in the poison oak too?" He looks at her skeptically. "I'm all in, literally, if you've got an excuse your dad would buy. I've been trying to bang you without success for a couple of hours so far, and I'm totally in favor of actually getting to do you in a shower. It’s probably the closest we’re coming to civilization ‘til it’s time to head for home.  I just know how you feel about your dad suspecting that we might actually have..." He lowers his voice dramatically. "S-E-X."

She huffs and rolls her eyes.  "And you're oh-so-hot to let him know, huh?"

“Never said that. And you know I’m all for the shower, just need to make sure the cover story is viable.”

Veronica nods at him, somewhat begrudgingly. “Okay, fair point. I’ll snag towels for both of us when I’m getting my stuff and then I’ll head for the shower and that way you’ll have to meet me there. What happens next is not the concern of anyone still sitting in his own campsite.”

“What happens in the shower, stays in the shower,” Logan agrees and she laughs.

“Exactly.”

They make it back to their campsite and Veronica gets her stuff and heads back to stake out one of the shower rooms. The RV separates their tent and the portion of Keith’s site where they’ve set up all the chairs and the grill, so they don’t even see her dad, meaning there’s no need to explain any extra towels.  Logan grabs his wallet from the car and sets off for the ranger station, but this takes him around the RV and Keith calls to him, still kicked back in his camping recliner. 

“Logan, hey, I thought I heard your voices.  You guys finally back from your hike?”

With a sigh, Logan veers toward his father-in-law. “Yes, and no.  I’ve gotta get shower tokens and get them to Veronica.  She stumbled into some poison oak and wants to try and get it off her before she ends up itchy and scratchy.”  He pauses to see if Keith will have any Simpsons-themed wit to volley back, but surprisingly, none comes.

“You avoided it?” Keith asks and Logan nods.

“Yeah, she was leading the way and saw she was in it before I stepped into the patch.”  He’s warming to his narrative and is ready to launch into a tale of how Veronica saved him from the mean green menace when Keith interrupts.

“That’s good. If you both got in it, one of you would have to be Itchy and the other would be Scratchy, and you’ve gotta know, that never ends up well for Scratchy.”

Logan laughs. He’d been sure he could count on Keith being able to dish back the pop-culture banter.  “Too true. Which undoubtedly would end up with me being Scratchy.”

“It’s good to know your place.”  Keith grins in a way that lessens the barb. “With Veronica, I’m usually Scratchy too though, so don’t feel bad.”

“Well, I’d better get those tokens, before I turn into Scratchy anyway.  See you in a bit.”  Logan turns to head for the ranger station again, but he stops in surprise at the sight of a woman who is not Veronica walking into the site. She’s older, but not old, probably somewhere around Keith’s age, an attractive brunette, dressed in tan shorts and a black tank top, wearing hiking boots.

“Hello,” she calls, and Logan raises his hand in greeting.

“Hey there,” he says, and turns back to Keith.  “Friend of yours?”

“Not yet,” Keith says, smiling, his eyes on the newcomer as he pushes out of his chair.  “Good afternoon. Welcome to my camp site.”

“Welcome to my campground. I’m Sandy, one of the camp hosts.  I like to get around and meet the newcomers.  Is this your first time visiting us?”

Logan glances back at Keith.  “I’ve gotta get the tokens.” He turns back to Sandy, extending his hand. “Nice to meet you, I’m Logan, this is my father-in-law, Keith, and I’ve got to go get some shower tokens before the poison oak sticks to my wife and we all wish we’d never come here.”

Sandy bursts into laughter and digs into her pocket.  “Here, let me donate to the cause.” She hands him three tokens.  “Fifteen minutes worth of shower.  That oughta do the trick.” She glances at Keith with a smile, then back at Logan. “Just remember, we’re in a drought. Best advice I can give…save water, shower with a friend.”

Logan had accepted the tokens, but froze at her ‘advice’, and the tokens slip through his limp fingers. When Keith steps up beside him and claps a hand to his shoulder before reaching down to retrieve the tokens, Logan’s pretty sure that the blur in his head is his life passing before his eyes.

“That is solid advice,” Keith says, dropping the tokens into Logan’s hand and reaching to shake Sandy’s hand. “If you’re not too busy on your newcomer greeting tour, you’re welcome to come in and sit a while, maybe have a beer. The kids have been off on a hike, but if you have time—”

“Absolutely, Keith, that would be great. I’d love a beer.” While Logan stands in stunned silence, Keith ushers Sandy into the campsite without even a glance at him, or a warning related to communal showers and licenses to carry firearms.

“So, Sandy, tell me, how does one become a camp host?”

He stares at his obviously body-switched father-in-law, then shakes his head and heads for the shower.

He finds Veronica sitting on a bench outside one of the showers, scuffing her toes on the pavement.  When she sees Logan, she grins at him.

“Damn ants, sending more of their troops after me. But they don’t know who they’re dealing with.” She peers down, face screwed up in concentration, then presses her foot against the ground again with a growl.  Logan chuckles and leans down to kiss the top of her head.

“Don't worry. You've shown them who's boss. Your picture will be out on the ant grapevine before nightfall." He presses another kiss against her hair then straightens. "So, I have news. And tokens.” He pulls the tokens from his pocket and holds them out to her. She squishes one more ant and rises to her feet.

“Ooh, fifteen whole minutes. Thanks, big spender.”

“Actually,” he begins, “I didn’t spend a dime on those tokens. They were a gift from our camp host, who is now sitting in your dad’s campsite, drinking a beer.”

“Well, that’s cool,” she says, taking them from him and shoving them into the front pocket of her shorts as she turns toward the shower door, but he holds up his hand.

“Not done with the news.  The host recommended that we save water and shower with a friend, and your dad called that solid advice.”

Veronica spins back to face him so quickly that he takes an involuntary step back. “He said that us showering together was _solid advice_?”

Logan gives her a tight-lipped smile and a nod. “His words exactly.”

“I don’t get it.” She drops back onto the bench. “Was he trying to get you to admit something?  We absolutely can’t do it if he’s trying to trap us.”  Logan moves to sit beside her.

“I don’t think it was anything that elaborate. Personally, I think he was trying to impress the camp host with his open-mindedness and possibly his ability to have a good time.”

She looks up at him with her face screwed up in confusion. “What? Why would he do that? I think you’re miss—”  She suddenly gasps and claps her hand over her mouth.  “Oh my God, was the host a woman?”

“As a matter of fact…” Logan grins at her. “The host is a woman. And a reasonably attractive woman at that.”

“She lives at a campground? Full-time? Isn’t she some hippy-dippy type? Dad’s not into that.”

He pulls her up from the bench again.  “I saw evidence of neither hippy nor dippy tendencies. And your dad was very friendly, but maybe it’s just the fresh mountain air making him less of a misanthrope.  Perhaps even open to new experiences.”

Veronica scowls at him and he smiles back as she completely ignores the part of his statement that she doesn't want to think about.  “My dad is not a misanthrope,” she grumbles, but he scoffs.

“Oh, sure he is.  All three of us are misanthropes; don’t kid yourself.” He reaches for the towels on the bench and tugs her hand.  “So come on. We’ve got specific approval for a drought-friendly shower. Let’s do it.”

“I don’t know,” she says reluctantly. “Just because he said it doesn’t mean he means it.”

Logan huffs a laugh and shakes his head. “Just gimme the tokens.” When she doesn’t move, he tucks the towels under his arm and digs his long fingers into her shorts pocket.  “It’s not like I told him that I was coming to shower with you. That whole conversation was nothing but a joke. I told them you needed to shower off the poison oak, and as long as I don’t let my hair get wet, no one’s ever gonna know if you had company in your shower or not.”  His fingers close on the tokens.  “A-ha! Finally.”

Veronica rolls her eyes.  “Oh, are you done copping a feel?”

He wrinkles his nose at her as he extracts his hand from her pocket and flourishes the tokens. “What?  Are you nuts? Why would I stop copping a feel?” He transfers the tokens to the hand balancing the towels under his arm and then reaches up to gently squeeze her breast. “Come on. If you don’t shower, they’re going to think you’re still covered in poison oak. You’ve gotta at least get your hair wet so they think you’ve rinsed off.”  

“All right, fine." She turns back to the shower room again, and they're finally in private.

Well, sorta.  It _is_ a private room, bisected with a wall about two-thirds the height of the ceiling, leaving a shower side and a dressing side, both pretty small for Logan's tastes.  However, he can now see that on the shower side, the top of the outside walls has been cut out, as if for windows, but there's no glass.  It's wire, and open to the outside, probably to vent the steam and prevent water damage. However, along with the steam, any noise from inside will drift out to anyone approaching the building.

"Okay, well, this is probably going to be the quietest sex we've ever had," Logan says, but the echo from his voice makes him jump and decrease his volume almost to a whisper.  "Except maybe that one time in the bathroom at your Dad's."

"What do you think it says about us that we're constantly trying to have sex in bathrooms?" Veronica asks, but Logan just shrugs and shakes his head, before yanking her tee shirt up and over her head.

"I don't care what it says," he finally answers, after he's got her bra off and his hands are cupping both her breasts. "We found something we like, and we stick to it." He drops to his knees, replacing his hands with his mouth so he can have his hand free to unbutton her shorts. He feels her fingers tangle in his hair and smiles against her skin.

"So we're just dedicated," she says, and arches closer in response to his hands sliding into the back of her shorts and cupping her bottom.

"Exactly." His voice doesn't come out sounding exactly clear, with the nub of her nipple in his mouth, but he's confident she understood him.  He kisses across her slightly salty skin to the other breast and swirls his tongue around that nipple as he draws her shorts and underwear down, then releases her with a pop of his lips as she steps out of her clothes. As she kicks her sneakers off, he pulls his own shirt over his head, then goes to work on his shorts and shoes.

"Gimme back the tokens," Veronica says, "and I'll get the water going."

"Uh uh." Logan wrests a shoe off. "We're going in together. I'm not letting any of our fifteen minutes get away." He kicks the second shoe off and then shoos Veronica into the shower side of the room. "Okay, let's do this."

"You're quite the romantic," Veronica says. "You really know how to show a girl the love."

He looks away from the instructions for the pay shower. "You know I do," he says and she gives him a begrudging nod.   

"Okay, I'll give you that one. So, can you figure it—"  She jumps back with a shriek as water suddenly sprays from the shower head.

"Sorry 'bout that," Logan says, grinning as he runs his hands under the spray.  "Ooh, it warms up pretty quick."

"It better, with each minute costing a buck."  She steps forward and lets the water pour over her. Logan watches her smooth her hands up over her stomach and breasts, but when she flattens her hands and brushes them back and forth over her already hard nipples, he's done watching and presses up behind her, again cupping her breasts with his hands.

"Logan, you're not supposed to get your hair wet," she says with a giggle, then gasps when he pinches her nipples between his fingers.  Her hands reach back behind them both to grab at his ass as she arches forward into his grasp. "Okay, I don't care about your hair."

She spins suddenly and locks her arms around his neck, then, with long-practiced ease, he lifts as she jumps and her legs wrap around his waist.  He moves them closer to the wall, pressing her back against it to help him keep her at fucking level, then lowers his head to kiss her. He keeps one hand on her ass, running his fingers into her wet folds, while he palms her breast again with the other.

"Finally," she moans, and he tilts his hips back to align her soft parts with his hard part...then freezes.  

"Veronica."

"Logan, come on." She shifts her hips, like she's chasing his dick. "We've only got so much ti—"

"Veronica, stop moving and don't let go."  He gets both arms under her and backs away from the wall, and away from the small, rectangular opening at the floor that he hadn't noticed at first. "Stop it," he says again when she wriggles in his arms.

"What's the problem?" she asks, and he tips his head slightly toward the outer wall, his eyes rolling in the same direction, even as he continues to back away.

"What?" she begins again, then her eyes fix on the brown, hairy spider moving into the shower with them...the spider that is absolutely bigger than Logan's fist. "Oh shit, Logan, get back!" she shrieks and he nearly drops her, but since she's now clutching him around the neck like her intent is strangulation, he doesn't. Couldn't actually if he wanted to.

"What do you think I'm doing?" he growls, continuing to slowly back away. He has no idea if this spider can jump and he doesn't want to startle it into any aggressive action. He reaches the end of the partition and moves them out of the shower, into the dressing area.

"Get dressed, fast.  Check your clothes first though, in case that thing has friends."  She appears reluctant, but slides down from where she is clinging to him, and starts picking up items of clothing and shaking them.

"What are you doing?"

He's stepped back to the dividing wall and is peeking around the corner.  It wouldn't do to lose track of that monster.  He's seen horror movies. That's when they get you.

The spider is still there, not too far into the room. "Logan," Veronica says in an insistent voice.

"Hang on." He takes a step into the shower side.  He's not sure, but it looks like...

"I think it's drinking." The spider appears to be laying in a low spot in the floor that has puddled up from the shower. He takes another step in and suddenly, the spider's front legs rear up and he leaps back, bumping into Veronica behind him.

"Just get dressed and we’re out of here." She's holding his boxer briefs and his shorts and is fully dressed. "I already shook them out."

"We've still got like ten minutes of shower left," he says, although he's already stepping into his clothes.  

"You go right ahead," she answers, "but you'll be showering alone."  He hears a slapping noise and looks at her.  She is striking her shoes violently against the side of the sink.

"You can probably stop; I think you got it." For some reason, he's no longer quite as freaked out as he had been.  It's clearly a tarantula in the shower, and as far as he knows, they're not poisonous. He knew a kid back in elementary school, before they moved to Neptune, who had a tarantula for a pet and would carry it around on his shoulder.  

"Pretty sure it's not poisonous," he begins, but she shakes her head violently.  

"Don't care. Leaving." She pulls her shoes on, then straightens.  "Are you coming with me or checking out your spider theories?"

He laughs and peeks back at the very large spider.  It's again stretched out in the puddle and he decides to let it do its thing without interruption. "I'll come with you." He catches the shirt she throws at him and tugs it over his head as he follows her outside.

"But hey, you know, even spiders need to hydrate."

 

* * *

VERONICA

* * *

 

Veronica sits quietly in her camping chair, transfixed by the fire rising up into the night.  This was not the rustic romantic excursion she had envisioned when she agreed to this trip.  After their disastrous shower, she and Logan had disappeared into their tent to quietly set up the air mattress and sleeping bags before emerging to the smell of Keith cooking steaks.  The long disappointed silence continued as they went around, prepping the side dishes and only ended when Logan answered Keith’s hesitant question of “So...how was the shower?” with one word:

“Tarantula.”

This set off a fit of laughter in Keith that became contagious and Logan joined in, first with a snicker, then a guffaw.  Veronica grudgingly decided to see the hilarity in the situation once Logan began telling her dad a very sanitized version of the events that transpired and her mood improved greatly—even though she was still horny as hell.

Glancing back towards Logan—sitting just to the left of her—she watches as he sits transfixed by a story that Keith is telling about his time with the Neptune Sheriff's department; a story Veronica has heard a thousand times before, but for Logan, it was new and exciting, and he listens with the wide-eyed excitement of a child hearing a favourite bedtime story.  

With a sigh, Veronica stuffs her hands in the pocket of her hoodie and props her feet up on a log, glancing over at Winnie who is now sleeping soundly in a spare folding chair next to her, wrapped in a polar fleece blanket.  For a moment, Veronica kind of wishes she could sleep through this story too and she has to remind herself that this trip wasn’t about her and Logan in the first place—it was about her father and Logan—and maybe it was time for her to let the two most important men in her life get to know each other in a real and meaningful way.  Okay, sure...sex would have been nice...but they could have sex anytime.  This was something more.

“...so did he get away?”  Logan’s voice is an excited hush as he waits for the answer.

“He did.  But I still don’t know how a one-legged naked man was able to scale that fence faster than me!  And I was in my prime!”

Veronica rolls her eyes at her father’s standard line to end this story as Logan bursts out laughing, leaning back in his chair and running his hands through his hair.  “Man...that was amazing.”

“Even more amazing when you haven’t heard it a million times in your life,”  Veronica snarks, arching her eyebrow at her father accusingly.

Keith points his finger at Veronica, wagging it playfully at her.  “Now look here, missy...”

“Excuse me...”  A voice comes out of the semi-darkness and Veronica’s head whips around to spy an older woman in a black t-shirt, faded blue jeans, and hiking boots standing behind her, holding a bottle of white wine and several red plastic cups.  Her eyes dart from Veronica to Logan and finally land on Keith.  “You mentioned that I should come by your campfire later, but if I’m interrupting...”

Winnie opens one eye and raises her head from the blanket, giving a half-hearted woof at the stranger before lowering his head again to rest.

“Well done, killer,”  Veronica mutters at the dog, shaking her head.

Keith rises quickly, almost knocking over his fabric folding chair in the process.  “No!  No, please Sandy.  Sit down.”   He gestures towards his chair and she nods, a large grin spreading across her face as she walks closer to him.

Veronica shoots Logan a glance, her eyes silently asking him:   _What the hell?_

Logan grins and nods, standing as the woman walks around behind them enters their circle, a tight smile shooting back at Veronica:   _Just be nice._

She frowns for a moment before standing as well, forcing a smile across her own face.

“Sandy—you already met my son-in-law Logan before, but this is my daughter, Veronica.  Veronica, this is Sandy—she works at the campsite.”

Veronica nods across the fire pit towards the other woman.  “Nice to meet you.”

Sandy glances between Keith and Veronica, smiling.  “Nice to finally meet you.  Keith was regaling me before with so many stories about you, I almost feel like I know you!”

A nervous laugh drifts between Logan and Veronica as they both lower themselves back into their chairs.  “Really.  That’s awesome.  Thanks Dad.”

“Oh don’t be like that, Veronica,”  Keith teases, walking towards the firewood.  Bending over, Keith lifts the chopping block with a muffled grunt of exertion before ambling it towards the fire, dropping in down near Sandy’s chair.  Wiping the sweat from his brown, he nods for Sandy to sit in his chair before he sits on the stump next to her and picks his beer up from on the ground.

“Thanks again for the tokens for the shower.”  There’s an over-enthusiasm to Logan’s voice and Veronica knows he’s trying to get between Keith and her before the real snark begins.   

“Oh, you’re welcome.  I couldn’t in good conscience let you both suffer with poison oak while you were scrambling for money for the showers.”  Sandy leans forward to place the wine bottle and cups on the ground, the deep V of her shirt opening to reveal her ample cleavage at Veronica, a red lace bra peeking out from under the black t-shirt.

Pursing her lips, Veronica frowns, glancing from Sandy back to her father—who by this time is smiling at the woman next to him like a giddy teenager.

“Yeah.  Thanks.  It was a great shower until we had company—in the form of a giant tarantula.”

Logan tosses her a look and she averts her eyes from his, knowing exactly what he’s trying to tell her without saying a word, but she doesn’t care..there was no way she was letting this campground hussy get her way with her father.

“Oh!  You had a visit from Lucas!”  Sandy exclaims, sitting up in her chair and clapping her hands excitedly.  “I’m sorry, but Lucas is our resident spider.  He kind of wanders the showers, keeping the bugs at bay.  Usually people don’t see him, but since you went in at an ‘off’ time, he was probably just...well...hanging around.”

“I’m sorry...Lucas?”  Keith asks with a chuckle.  “You named the spider?”

“Oh yes!”  Glancing from Keith back to Veronica, Sandy smiles warmly.  “I was telling your father earlier, I’m a kindergarten teacher in Sacramento for most of the year—but in the summer I drive my RV here and work for the campground for extra money and free camping during their busy season.  Lucas the Spider is a very popular YouTube video with my little ones at school.  You should check it out.  It’s really cute.”

“Oh.”  Veronica blinks rapidly, her brain adjusting her first impression of Sandy in her head from part-time campground hooker to loveable preschool teacher.  “So you don’t do this all the time?”

“As my full-time job?  No.”  Sandy laughs in a high giggle that sounds in Veronica’s head exactly like a Kindergarten teacher would laugh at a joke one of her tiny students would tell.

Keith reaches for the wine and holds it out for Sandy.  “Would you like me to pour you a drink?”

“Oh, why thank you, Keith.  I did bring ‘camping wine glasses’ as well so we can all share.”  She air quotes with her fingers glancing down at the Solo cups near her feet.

“I’m good with beer, thanks,”  Logan replies, raising his beer can in the air before taking a sip.

“Ditto.”  Veronica reaches for her beer and takes a long, hard swig.

“Well, I’ll try some,” Keith states, holding the bottle slightly away from him, trying to make it not look like he needs the reading glasses he has stashed in the RV.  “A nice, chilled Pinot Gris on a nice summer evening.”

“This is the one from Napa I was telling you about earlier—the one with the apple and pear notes.  A great value wine but so complex.”

“A wine lover, huh?  Well, you know, Keith here has a pretty good palette.  He helped pick the wines we had at our wedding.”  Logan nods in Keith’s direction, smiling.

Veronica’s eyes narrow.  Keith had nothing to do with the wine decision.  When the sommelier at the Neptune Grand started explaining the pairings when they were deciding on the menu for the wedding, Keith kept knocking back his two-ounce pours with a “this is good” thrown in each time he finished one.

Pulling out his Swiss Army knife from his pocket, Keith unfolds the corkscrew and begins peeling back the foil on the top of the bottle.  “Well, it was a tough decision—there were a lot of courses to consider...”

Taking a small breath, Veronica opens her mouth to speak before a side glare from Logan makes her close it.  She gets it now.  It took her a second, but she knows what’s going on.  _Logan’s trying to be my dad’s wingman._

A startled cough catches in Veronica’s throat and all eyes turn to her as she hacks, her cheeks growing warm.  “I...okay...” she sputters and takes another swig of her beer to wash away the dryness.

Keith continues pouring two cups of wine, holding the cups together in one hand as he fills them before putting down the bottle and passing one to Sandy.  “Well, cheers to you.  Thank you for joining me tonight.”

Sandy’s smile stretches across her cheeks and in the glow from the fire, Veronica can see the woman’s eyes light up with enthusiasm.  “Thank you for asking.  You know, it’s usually retired folks and young families that come here.  It’s nice to meet someone I can relate to.”

Chuckling Keith raises his glass toward Veronica and Logan.  “Well, maybe in a few years we’ll be back with a grandkid or two in tow.”

This time it is Logan who begins choking, coughing and sputtering his beer.  Keith and Sandy begin to laugh and Veronica leans over to pat Logan’s back.

“I’m fine.”  He coughs one more time and takes another drink of his beer to clear his throat.

“You’ll love being a grandparent, Keith.  I have two—one from my son and his husband and one from my daughter and hers—and they are a delight.”  Sandy has now turned her body almost sideways in the chair so she is facing Keith completely.

“What!  You’re far too young to be a grandma.”  Keith takes a long drink of his wine, his eyes never leaving Sandy’s.

“Yes, well, I married young.  Got divorced young too.”  She laughs, taking a long drink of her wine.  “Being a single parent was hard, but  I have two great kids—it was all worth it.”

With a deep sigh, Keith glances towards Veronica for a second, his mouth opening, then closing again, as if at a loss for words.

“Dad raised me alone too,”  Veronica blurts out.  “My mom left us when I was a teenager and Dad raised me by himself after that.”

“Well, that’s remarkable.”  Sandy’s eyes glance between the father and daughter before her hand drops to rest on Keith’s arm.  “That’s probably where all that fatherly pride for you and your husband comes from.”

“What’s that now?”  Logan says, his eyes growing wide.

Sandy squeezes Keith’s arm, her eyes turning back to his.  “When you both weren’t here, Keith was bragging about how you had some tough times when you were younger, but you both finished college and have great careers.  And Logan, he told me how you were thinking of going back to school and getting your Ph.D. in philosophy, and Veronica...how you were a brilliant criminologist and will probably take over the family business one day.”  She pauses, blushing and takes a sip of wine.  “But I’m sorry, I’m probably embarrassing you kids.”

Veronica reaches over and takes Logan’s hand in hers, catching a glimpse of shimmering moisture in his eyes.  “No.  Not at all.”  Standing, she gives Logan’s hand a tug and he looks up, blinking rapidly to hide his tears.  “If you guys are okay out here without us, I think Logan and I are going to go to bed.  We’ve had an exciting day.”

Nodding, he stands and Veronica wraps her arms around his waist, hugging him close to her and he kisses her forehead.

“Plus, Dad wants to rent one of the boats and take us fishing tomorrow, so we should probably rest up for all the swimming that will happen when we fall in the lake.”  She giggles, gazing up at Logan.

“Well, you guys have had an exciting day, that’s for sure.  Good night, kids.”  Keith nods, raising his cup towards them before taking another drink.

“Good night.  It was lovely to meet you both.”  Tossing them a small wave goodbye, Sandy smiles warmly at the couple.

“Good night all,”  Logan says before turning towards the tent, leading Veronica towards the entrance.

Unzipping the fly, Logan crawls in and Veronica follows, taking one last glance towards her father, basking in the glow of the fire and female attention before zipping the door closed.

* * *

 

“What time is it now?”  Veronica whispers in the darkness.

The air mattress rises and falls underneath her as Logan rolls over to grab his phone, illuminating the screen to read the time.

“1 A.M.”

“Sweet Jesus, just say good-night Dad,” she mutters quietly, staring up at the small shadows from the dying fire dance across the ceiling of the tent.

Logan had invested in two large sleeping bags that could be zipped together to form one large one—big enough for two people to easily sleep together in.  When she realized they could sleep “together” Veronica quickly set aside her flannel pajamas and instead, crawled into the sleeping bag naked.  The hope was that her father—who rarely stayed up past 10 P.M. anymore—would soon fall asleep and they could have very, very quiet sex in the coolness of their tent.  That was three hours ago.  Instead, they got to listen to a series of slightly embarrassing conversations as her dad tried to woo Sandy with his humour and stories.  About an hour ago, the thought did cross Veronica’s mind of just attempting the world’s quietest sex, but she was quickly shot down by equally naked Logan saying it would be like her dad was in the same room with them.

“Please.  Let’s just go to sleep, Bobcat.  There will be plenty of opportunities to have sex in our own bed when we get home.”  Logan whines, his arm covering his eyes.

Keith and Sandy’s voices drop and Veronica’s ears perk up, listening for the words ‘goodbye’ from them.

“Shhhhhh....just listen...I think it’s almost over...”  Veronica hisses, rolling over to try and get a better listen.

“Thank you for the hospitality tonight, Keith.”

“My pleasure Sandy.  But you know, the evening doesn’t have to end.”

Veronica’s eyes open wide and she pushes herself up on her elbow, leaning towards the tent fabric to listen better.  There is a pause of silence and then the unmistakable sound of lips smacking against each other followed by a low moan.

“Oh, Keith.”

“Why don’t we go into my RV where we can have some...privacy.”

“No!”  Logan hisses, shimmying closer to Veronica and sitting up to listen as well.

“Oh my God...”  Veronica gasps in disbelief.

“Come on, Winston.  It’s time to go to sleep where it’s nice and warm.”   There is a small bark from the dog and some shuffling before the sound of the RV door opening and closing echoes in the night and all that is left outside is the low sound of the final crackling embers of the fire.

Logan’s arm slips around Veronica’s naked waist and he kisses her neck.  “Well, good for them.”

“Good for them.  Good for them?”  Veronica whispers back at him as he continues to kiss her neck.  “My dad is making out with a stranger in there...just steps away from us.”

“Eh.  Good on the old guy.”  Logan chuckles, his hand sliding down her belly to cup her sex, the warmth of his hand radiating through her.

Closing her eyes, Veronica lets herself become distracted by Logan’s fingers as he slips his slender middle finger through her lips, pressing gently on her clit as he begins to move in little circles in that way that he knows she can’t resist.  All of the pleasure that’s been building up—and crashing down without fulfillment—throughout the day is back with a vengeance and all she can think about it how amazing it would be to make love to him in the great outdoors.  Bucking her hips against his hand, Veronica bites her lips, trying to keep as quiet as she can.  When his other hand reaches under and around her, pressing her body back into his hard cock, a little moan escapes and he chuckles into the soft flesh at the base of her neck, continuing to alternate between kissing and sucking her skin.  Taking her nipple between his thumb and forefinger he pinches the sensitive peak—not too hard but not too softly either—and her mouth opens in a quiet gasp.

“Oh!  Keith!”

“Sandy.  God, Sandy!”

Veronica’s eyes shoot open as Logan’s hands freeze on her body.   A low moan emanates from the RV followed by a thud.  Then another thud.  Then a succession  of thuds, now in a rhythm...

“Ohhhhhhh....nooooooooooo!”  Veronica hisses, wriggling away from Logan’s grasp.

“Okay.  That’s it.”  Sliding out of the sleeping bag, Logan begins stumbling around in the darkness, snatching up a pair of pants and pausing to carefully zip his jeans past his semi-hard cock before tossing on a t-shirt from the ground.  “Get dressed.  We’re leaving.”

“What?”  Veronica replies quietly, trying to ignore the sounds of Keith and Sandy getting it on in the RV next to them.

“I saw a cheap little motel a few minutes away when we came in off the highway.  We’re going there, having sex, sleeping where there are no bugs, then coming back before breakfast, alright?”

Opening her mouth to launch a rebuttal, Veronica’s voice is lost over the sound of Sandy next to them.

“Oh God Keith, yes, yes, yes!”

Leaping out of the sleeping bag, Veronica begins throwing on her clothes as quickly as possible.  “If I drive, you can push the car while it’s in neutral a little ways so they don’t hear the engine start.”

The sound of her father moaning fills the tent and Veronica cringes in emotional agony.

“I don’t think they’ll notice,”  Logan states and he drops to the ground to do up his hiking shoes.

In a matter of minutes, the couple are in the car and on the road, on their way to a safe place to spend the rest of the night.

 

* * *

LOGAN

* * *

 

The motel is only about fifteen minutes away, but all the way there, all he can think of is how close he came to finally getting to be with Veronica, and how his father-in-law screwed it up by not having the sense to close his windows before getting lucky.  The traumatized noises that Veronica had been making when the banging started...he’d be lucky if he ever got any ever again.  He’d had to get her out of there, and the cheap hotel they’d passed on the way to the camp had been the only thing he could think of.  

And geez, was he right, it's cheap, so cheap that he's pretty sure this place is almost as close to roughing it as the tent, but it's got solid walls, and a door, and best of all, no moaning Keith.  He unlocks the door and pushes it open, waving Veronica through.  She stumbles inside and immediately throws herself on the bed.

"Oh, thank God. I was starting to think—" She turns a forlorn face to Logan and holds out her arms.

"Please come snuggle with me."

He smiles at her, and moves to the bed to cuddle her in his arms, but the thought that is pulsing in his brain, in upper-case, red font, is NEVER EVER AGAIN. He knows that cuddling really is often the best part, at least now that he's got Veronica on a permanent basis, but that's because the sex before the cuddling is always fuckin' awesome. If this experience really has traumatized her to the point—

"Logan?"

He's ripped from his over-the-top Chicken Little thoughts of never having sex again by her quiet voice.

"Yeah, babe?"

"My dad should be happy.  I should want him to be happy."

He looks down at her, pressed into his side, and drops a kiss against her hair.  "You do. Absolutely no one who knows you would ever think that you don't."

"Then I shouldn't have gotten so upset.  He's an adult and Sandy was actually kinda nice.  Not the wilderness bimbo I had her pegged for." 

"Doesn't mean you want to hear him get it on," Logan says, and she shakes her head frantically.  "That part there?  Perfectly normal.  Don't go blaming yourself for being a little disturbed by that. Hey, he's not my dad, and I wasn't keen on it."

“Really?” she asks softly.

“Really.” On this fact he has no doubt whatsoever.

“Okay.” She moves her hands up to rest all her fingers against his face, then stretches up to give him a soft kiss.  “So…after everything…do you still want…do you still want to—“

“Fuck, yes, I want to,” he interrupts.  "For the record, I always want to. Okay? Always."  He shifts her higher in his arms so he can kiss her back, with a little more intent than the gentle kiss she'd just given him. He's relieved when her lips part and her tongue swipes across his mouth.

"Always, huh?" she says with an amused tone.

"Any time, any place."  He rolls onto his back, dragging her with him so she's atop him.  She laughs and straddles him, in exactly the right spot, then sits up, his hardening cock aligned with her hot center.  He watches her shift her hips as she presses against him and she laughs when he groans.

"We've tried pretty much every place there is today. And you've been cock-blocked at every turn. By my dad, and ants, a giant spider named Lucas, and my dad again.  What makes you think you can seal the deal this time?"

Logan looks around the room speculatively.  "I don't see any ants."

She smiles coyly, as she takes her own look around the room, grinding down on him the entire time. "I think you're right. No ants."

"And, as it turned out, we could have done it with Lucas there, as long as we didn't get too rambunctious and step on him."

One side of her face crunches up skeptically and she gives a quick headshake.  "Mmm, I'm not sure I agree with you on that one.  Even knowing what we know, I'm not sure that would have been something I could really do."

He shrugs.  "Next time, I won't mention him."

"Oh really?" she queries with a grin. "Now I feel like we've got a trust issue."

"What you don't know won't cockblock me." He slips his fingers under the bottom of her shirt, incidentally, wrong side out given their rapid dressing in the dark, and slides them against the soft skin of her stomach. "So, no ants, no spiders, and, most importantly, only us.  So..." His hands slide up and discover that wrong side out wasn't Veronica's only concession to speedy dressing.

"No bra, Mrs. Echolls?" he teases as he traces reducing concentric circles on her breasts.

"We were in a hurry." She grinds on him again as his circles reach their apex and he flicks at her hardening nipples.

"I see," Logan says in a low tone, as he sits up, mouths at the crook of her neck, then begins to pull the shirt over her head. He's almost got a visual on those nipples he was having fun with, when there's a knock at their door.

"Fucking seriously?!" Veronica explodes and hurls herself out of his lap and onto the mattress.  "Who the hell is at our door at almost two fucking AM? What the actual—"

She abruptly goes silent when a voice echoes through the door.  "I'm sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Echolls, but you left your credit card in the office."

Veronica heaves a put-upon sigh and rolls off the mattress toward the bathroom.  "Check the peephole before you open that door, Logan. The way this weekend is going, there's no telling who's really out there."  She glares at the door and slams into the bathroom.

Logan pulls his wallet out of his pocket, flips it open, and discovers that his Amex is, indeed, not in its usual spot.  Cover story pretty much confirmed, he still peeks through the tiny hole in the door and sees the young clerk from whom he'd rented the room.

"I'm so sorry," the clerk begins, extending the card as soon as Logan opens the door. "I wouldn't have interrupted you, but you said you were going to get an early start in the morning, and I was worried that you'd leave before—"

"No problem, man, I appreciate it." Logan pulls a twenty out of his wallet and hands it to the clerk. "This is for your trouble—" he reaches into the wallet and pulls out another twenty "—and this is to ensure that no one comes anywhere near this door for the length of our stay."  He shakes his head and grabs the fifty he keeps for emergencies. "The entire length of our stay.  Do we have a deal?"

The clerk looks stunned, all three bills crumpled in his fist. "Umm, yeah, sure.  Do you think I should sit out here to make sure—"

Logan laughs and shakes his head.  "No, no, that won't be necessary. Just make sure, if anyone shows up—maybe like a kinda short, roundish, balding guy—asking about us, you've never seen us and you have no idea.  Got it?"

"Yes, sir, absolutely. No idea."  The clerk is practically stammering.  "You can count on me."  He brandishes the fist full of money, then turns and almost runs toward the office.  Logan watches him go for a brief moment, then closes the door, locks the deadbolt and, after a moment of consideration, sets the chain.

"No one else is getting in here," he mumbles, then turns back toward the bed.  "Oh, Ver-onica," he singsongs, "come out, come out, wherever you are."

The bathroom door opens and her head pops out. "Really the clerk, huh?"

"Yes."

"And really gone now."

"Gone, gone, gone."

"Okay then."  The door closes momentarily, then opens wide, and stark naked Veronica strolls out. Logan doesn't even try to control the grin that splits his face.

"Oh my God, finally." He pulls his shirt over his head, for probably the tenth time in the last twenty-four hours, and flings it away as he moves toward her. "You move fast."

"I figured I'd better, before something else happened." They meet at the foot of the bed and Logan loops his arms around her waist, resting his hands low on her back.  Veronica rests her forearms on his chest and smooths her fingertips over his pecs as she smiles up at him.

"How about you?" She stretches up to brush her lips against his, then settles back on her feet and steps out of his arms to walk away from him. He pivots to figure out what she's doing, and maybe what else she has to say.  To his relief, she moves to the side of the bed and flings the covers back.

"How fast can you move?" she asks in a seductive tone, and stretches out on her back across the mattress, arms raised over her head and one knee raised.  

Logan takes a moment to commit that view, Veronica spread out in front of him like a Penthouse model, to memory for future use, then he drops to a crouch to unlace his shoes.

"How fast do you really want me to move?" he asks as he kicks the shoes off and yanks his fly open.

"Well, I guess, not too fast," she replies, as he shoves his jeans down and steps out of them. She smiles at him. "Looks like I'm not the only one who neglected my undergarments in our grand escape."

He takes a step nearer, and she twists at the waist, switching raised knees, and lowering one hand to trail her fingers slowly down her body, between her breasts, fingertips stretching to just skim over a nipple, then down her smooth stomach, floating over her belly button, then down, just barely brushing between her legs...  

It's the sight of her fingers skating down between her legs that finally triggers his movement. He loves to watch her like this: confident in how sexy she was, in how much he wants her and only her. But right now, after all the starts, and stops, and disappointments today, he needs to be where those fingers are. He's the rest of the way across the room and stretched out beside her before he even thinks about moving, mouth pressed to hers, arm around her waist, crushing her to him. She rolls to face him, one leg hooking over his hip, notching his cock into her wet folds.

"I think I’m done with the foreplay," she whispers when their kiss breaks for respiration. "This whole day has been nothing but one interrupted round of foreplay after another, and I’ve had enough." She pushes him from his side onto his back and goes with him, straddling him again and raising herself on her knees enough to center herself, then slide onto him in one quick motion.

His groan and her gasp echo together in the room and he closes his eyes to savor the feeling as she starts to ride him. She's hot and tight around him, like always, and her hands brace against his chest with purpose as she takes from him what he's wanted to give her all day.  His hands rise almost of their own accord to grasp her hips, and it's the feel of her skin beneath his fingers that makes his eyes open to watch her.

Her head's thrown back, mouth open and throat exposed. She's panting already, and the almost violent bob of her breasts that counters her strokes on his cock is mesmerizing. He lifts a hand, briefly wanting the feel of one in his palm, but he realizes that all he'll probably accomplish if he does catch hold is throw off her rhythm and what he really wants to see is her coming apart on top of him. He returns his hand to the hip it had been grasping, and his thumbs come down to press her clit between them instead.

Her eyes pop open then, and she does lose a stroke or two as their eyes meet and lock, but she's quickly back to her aggressive tempo, taking him inside her over and over. He finds his own pattern, pressing against her when she engulfs him fully, and the sounds that start to escape her on those downward strokes make him feel like he's swelling larger and harder inside her.

"Logan, God, Logan, Logan," she cries, growing louder with each call of his name.

He switches from side pressure with his thumbs to direct contact in little circles with the pad of his index finger and it only takes another couple of strokes before he's got what he wants, and she's convulsing all around his cock, crying out while the rest of her muscles go rigid with pleasure.

He flips her then, onto her back, and as she continues to shudder, he sets his own pace, pulling out nearly completely before diving back in deep. He uses an arm under her to rock her hips up and she calls his name again as he bottoms out. One leg creeps up to lock around him, while the other gets planted on the mattress so she can rock up at him as aggressively as he's pounding into her. He could feel the familiar pressure building in him and he slides his arm out from under her so he can slip his hand between them, fingers circling her clit again.

"Fuck, Veronica," he groans in her ear, "Come with me," and she bucks against him, her leg clutching him more tightly to her.  There's barely any room for his hand and he stops the circling and just presses down on her engorged nub.

"Logan," she cries once more, then her inner muscles are grabbing at him again and he tips over the edge with her.

* * *

There's a thin line of light shining between the curtains and Logan glances at the small clock on the nightstand.  6:46 AM.  Veronica's nestled under his arm, cheek on his chest, and he tips his head to kiss her forehead.

"Bobcat?  We should be getting up and heading back before your dad starts worrying." He kisses her again and runs his hand down her spine.  She murmurs softly, then seems to swim enough to consciousness to realize what's happening and a grimace slides over her face.

"Go 'way," she grumbles, although she's burrowing further into his side as she says that.  He chuckles and strokes her back again.

"Come on, we've gotta get back out to the campground." He brushes her hair behind her ear. "Come on, Veronica, if we get up now, we can probably take a quickie shower before we head back."

She opens one eye and looks at him suspiciously.  "A quickie in the shower?"  He laughs.

"Not what I said, but I can definitely get behind that idea. Come on, get up."

* * *

An hour later, they're pulling back into the campground, with their excuse for being out and about, fresh bacon-maple donuts and apple crullers, in a box in Veronica's lap. As they drive past Keith's site before pulling into their own, Veronica spots Sandy sitting in one of the camp chairs, scratching Winnie's head while Keith stands next to the fire, obviously telling a story with wild hand gestures.  He spots the Rover and his brow furrows, but Veronica holds up the pink box and he grins and waves.

"She's still here," Veronica says despondently, and Logan nods.  

"She's in different clothes though, so she didn't stay over."

"That's not what that means," Veronica says scornfully.  "It just means she's already walk-of-shamed home and is back again for more."

Logan puts the car in park and turns to her. "Like you said last night, she's not a campground floozy—" Veronica makes a disbelieving sound "—and your dad deserves to be happy.  So if a little camping fling makes him happy, I think we should be happy for him." He leans forward and kisses her forehead. "Can you at least try?" 

She pouts a little, but nods. "Yeah.  You're right. And I did mean what I said. I want him to be happy, and if a kindergarten teacher makes him happy, then I'm going to go with it."

He kisses her once more, on the lips this time, then presses his forehead to hers.  "Good call. It's gonna mean a lot to your dad."

She nods and smiles, and he straightens back to pull the keys from the ignition.  "Well, okay then, we've gotta race into that tent and get different shirts on, so there's no walk of shame speculation going on about us, and you absolutely need a bra so I don't do anything stupid in front of your dad."  

She laughs. "So let's go."

* * *

Logan's looking at the last apple cruller and wondering if he can eat any more sugar when Keith comes up beside him.  

"You want this?" Logan asks hopefully, gesturing at the tempting pastry, but Keith shakes his head.

"Nah, I've had enough, and I've gotta leave room for dinner.  Sandy offered to make me her famous camping gumbo tonight.  I hope you guys don't mind. I know we came out here to spend time together, but I'd kinda like—"

"It's totally fine, Keith," Logan interrupts, "you should go and have fun. We're having a great time out here. I heard Sandy telling Veronica about a stargazing thing down by the lake, maybe we'll go down and do that."

"Well if you think that'll work..." Keith trails off, looking thoughtful.

"We can even keep the dog if you want, but we're gonna put him in the RV before we hang it up for the night. That way you can stay at Sandy's as long as you want." He raises his eyebrows suggestively, and is amused to see his father-in-law blush all the way to the top of his scalp.

"No, it's not—"  He stops, shaking his head and looks at Logan frankly.  "Does Veronica know?"

Logan's not sure what to do with that one. He glances over to where Veronica and Sandy are sitting at the picnic table, playing a rousing game of backgammon, laughing and teasing.  

"Whatever she knows, she looks okay with it," he finally says and claps Keith on the arm.  

Keith had followed his gaze and is watching the women with a smile, but Logan is shaken to see that his eyes are watery.

"She does look okay."  He huffs a little, then looks at Logan, eyes still shiny, but his voice firm. "I know a lot of that's because of you, son, and I know I don't ever tell you that.  But even if I don't say it, I'm glad she's got you." He smiles at Logan, then walks toward the table.

"I play the winner," he calls and Logan laughs as he watches Keith slide in next to Sandy, talking trash about backgammon prowess.

He should have known this camping thing wasn't the best idea he'd ever had; all the craziness of the day before had made that painfully clear.  But today, it looks like maybe it hadn't been such a mistake after all.

"Logan!" Veronica shouts and he jerks back to the present.

"Yes, Sugarpuss?"

"What are you doing over there by yourself? The old people are ganging up on me." There's an offended groan from the 'old people' in question.  "Get your ass over here and help me."

"Whatever you say, Bobcat."

 

**Author's Note:**

> Well...that was fun. Thanks to everyone who encouraged us on Tumblr to do this little experiment in round-robin writing.


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